Southampton, LASIK/Wavefront, 7 Nov.

Customer Service - 4. They try hard, I am sure, and they are friendly enough, but their admin is poor.

Surgeon - 5. I used to wear glasses, now I can function without them. Simple.

Technology - 5. It worked perfectly. If they could find a way of getting the ring around the eye without it feeling like a donkey is trying to kick a cannonball into it, it would be great!

Value for Money - 4. Let down by the overall admin. It kind of kills the experience of a day which should flow, and it's a lot of cash, whichever way you look at it.

OK, following on from the post below, I had the surgery yesterday (7 Nov). As we know, Optical Express and timekeeping are not the best bedfellows, but it would be nice for them to keep people updated. They do say that you should expect to wait around three hours, but they should keep you updated as to the stage you are at in the whole process, but to be honest it's not that bad once you compare that to a lifetime of wearing glasses. The staff were really nice, it just didn't come across as being too admin-professional! The redid all the tests, which gives you a warm feeling.

As for the surgery, it was brilliant. I had a lady surgeon who was very professional, as were her staff. Everything was explained, a minor panic when they said my eyes may be "too flat" and that I might have to reconsider alternative surgery, but it all went well in the end. I was only in the chair for around 30 minutes. When I sat up, I could see the signs on the walls straight away! I got the "wow" moment...

Post op I came out, and lied to everyone else. The "little bit of pressure" at the start was a killer, so much so that I pushed up as the surgeon pushed down to get it sorted quicker (to get the ring over the eye). I told everyone it was painless....didn't seem fair to panic people who were already nervous! Apart from that, the actual surgery is freaky - the microkeratome is quite noisy, the laser is quite noisy, and the revelation at the end is incredible. The smell is insignificant, for all those who are imagining loads of smoke and burning skin!

After about an hour, I started to feel uncomfortable as the anaesthetic wore off. NOT painful, just similar to having looked into a bright light for too long! I was very light sensitive, but a good pair of shades got me home in the car (no, I wasn't driving!), and drawn curtains and sleep was what was needed. The eye protectors are VERY sexy, and scared the wife stupid this morming when she thought she had woken up next to "The Fly". However, my eyesight was such that I was able to function as normal around the house, and got myself to Southampton from Portsmouth on the train for the follow up.

The follow up was another example of Optical Express and timekeeping. An hour later than the alleged time of the appointment, but the lady who saw me was great, really reassuring and enthusiastic. When she apologised for being late (which was an improvmement for Optical Express!), someone else pointed out that there had been delays as far back as anyone could remember with Optical Express - possibly when Moses got LASEK before parting the oceans. I think that if you use Optical Express, you have to accept that their timekeeping is bad. BUT - weigh it against their surgeons and their results.

I am now 20+/20+, and have just driven home. There is no pain for me, but my eyes are not yet perfect at all distances (I don't know what I expected after 24 hours!). The drops are good for clearing vision, and overall I am very chuffed with the results. Back next week, but it is getting better all the time. I think that if Optical Express could tighten up on the admin, more people would be happier. However, if you accept that they are a conveyor belt who produce good results, and that you are not paying for BUPA private rooms, then I suppose it's a fair deal. The literature could be updated (you sign forms that are a couple of years old), and they could do with getting people's opinions on the whole process and trying to improve. But, as this is likely to be a "one-off" shot for most people any improvements would be hard to quantify!

I MET THE LADY WHO ONLY PAID £395 FOR ONE EYE - SO SHE DOES EXIST!

I would also like to thank the incompetent staff at Natwest in Gosport who managed to take my cash deposit, record it as a cheque, and then refuse to clear it for three days, messing me and Optical Express around. It almost cost me the surgery, and now that I am happy that the payment has been made, I will be popping in to see them (properly!) to find out exactly which piece of the training about deposits the fool on the front desk managed to miss!

Overall, I know that some people have bad experiences, and there may be valid medical or post-op reasons that they do not get perfect results. All you can do is weigh up what you know, or what you can find out, against the cost and the risks. It's a big step, but it worked for me (and as far as I can see, all the others who were done on the same day). Some of the scare-mongering is not very professional, and I don't doubt that people don't like the way that Optical Express work, but they are a business, they want your money, and they provide a service to the best of their ability. If you want better, then you are going to have to pay more, and I think that many of us use Optical Express because they are affordable, local and convenient. I was never "hard-sold" anything, I explained that I would not sign "on the day", and I never had a problem with the staff - they went out of their way to help me when NatWest mucked up the payments, and they have always been nice enough in the store.